Implied Horizons Art Show – Behind The Scenes

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of an art exhibition? Did you know that presenting paintings beautifully can be as much an art as actually creating the paintings themselves?

See Behind The Scenes Of Implied Horizons

I’ve been busy these past few months preparing for my solo art show, Implied Horizons: Watercolors By Anne Nordhaus-Bike, which opens this Friday, Nov. 3, with an artist reception from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Five Seasons Family Sports Club, 1300 Techny Rd. in Northbrook, IL. The show runs through Saturday, Dec. 2, and is free and open to the public.

This is such an exciting time, and I wanted to share a bit of this excitement with you by giving you a behind the scenes look at some of the things that go into creating an art exhibition.

Framing The Paintings

Choosing a frame

For artists who paint watercolors, framing becomes a major factor for any show because watercolors need protection from fluids, dust, and direct handling.

My husband, Bill, who also is my business partner, joined me in visiting Rodwan Gallery in Chicago this past September. Owner Susan Rodwan showed us many types of frames, and I chose a very simple wooden one in a light color so my paintings would stand out instead of being overpowered.

Picking Up And Transporting The Paintings

After I chose a frame, we needed to measure all the paintings for my master list. Then we left all 21 of my “babies” with Susan.

Then I worked on many other tasks for the show, including publicity and event planning, while Susan took on the heroic job of framing so many paintings—many of them quite large.

Susan with framed Horizon (Red And Blue)

After a month, the framing was complete. I was so excited to see how my paintings looked in their new framing finery.

Bill with unwrapped Pearl Gray And Purple Horizon II

Bill joined me to help transport the art, and the day we set out to meet with Susan was probably the rainiest day I can remember here in Chicago. It rained, and rained, and rained. We hoped it would clear up after we got to Susan’s, but, alas, it began to pour even harder while we were there. Fortunately, Bill had thought ahead and brought very large plastic garbage bags so we could cover all the paintings and get them into the car safely.

We were able to fit only about half the paintings in Bill’s car, so he very graciously returned to pick up the rest the following day because I had a meeting all day. Here are several photos from that first day of picking up and transporting the paintings.

Inspecting, Storing, And Planning Installation

When we got the paintings home, I opened every one to do a final inspection. Then I rewrapped each and stored all of them, lined up vertically in the order on my master list.

At the same time, we were having labels and placards created for the show. Once those arrived, I opened and inspected the labels and placards, rewrapped them, and stored them with the paintings.

Storing wrapped paintings

The week before the installation, I printed out images for all 21 paintings and spread them out on the living room rug. I took my time mulling over how they looked next to each other and then played around with the order for a while. I got a sense of what looked good next to what, which pairs made interesting statements being next to one another, and how the overall exhibit would flow with different ordering.

Finally, I had an order that felt right, giving me a good working plan for the order in which I want to hang the paintings when we install them at Five Seasons. Here are a couple photos from this part of the process.

Preparing for installationInstallation materials: labels, placards

Join Me: Friday, Nov. 3, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Isn’t it fun to see what happens behind the scenes?

I’m so looking forward to all the final steps as we get ready to greet you this Friday at the opening reception. Do join me: the reception for Implied Horizons: Watercolors By Anne Nordhaus-Bike is on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

And the show will be on display through Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017.

Artist Talk: Sunday, Nov. 12, 2 p.m.

I’m also giving an artist talk on Sunday, November 12, at 2 p.m. Like the exhibit, this special event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.

Do plan to join me. I’m looking forward to talking one on one with everyone who comes and sharing all the background and inside stories about some of the paintings in the show. You’ll hear more about my background, artistic process, and how these paintings came to life in my studio.

All events are free and open to the public.

Club Location And Hours

Five Seasons Family Sports Club is located at 1300 Techny Rd. in Northbrook, IL.

Implied Horizons is open during regular club hours, which are Monday through Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, call 847-897-5030 or visit the Five Seasons website.